Ultra Lights “Pleasure’s All Yours”
Atlanta’s Ultra Lights come out swinging on their debut, ‘Pleasure’s All Yours.’ The band delivers a scrappy blast of garage rock and punk pop with the loose, restless energy of the early 2000s. There’s plenty comparisons to The Strokes and Pavement here, but Ultra Lights has their own rough-edged personality. The title track gets things moving immediately, built around an upbeat rhythm, shouted vocals, and a hook that sticks without overstaying its welcome.
“Good Enough” follows with a denser, heavier groove, but “Bad Feeling” really hits the mark. The catchy melody clashes nicely with a darker lyric, summed up by the wonderfully nasty line, “It’s a pretty nice day for a kick in the face.” It’s catchy, menacing, and oddly danceable. “Nostalgia” turns up the guitar attack with a Ramones-like charge, while John Robinson’s delivery of “Watch out, here it comes” gives the chorus an extra jolt. “Diamond Dreams” pushes further into the dense guitar sound, while “What’s Wrong” gets downright snotty, leaning harder into the band’s punk side. The songs are short, loud, and packed with enough authenticity to keep the rough edges intact. Highly Recommended.
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Jacob Ungerleider “Congratulations”
LA-based Pianist Jacob Ungerleider captivates you with his opening ballad “Congratulations,” a mix of heartbreak and bitterness that recalls a mix of Harry Nilsson and Elliot Smith. He’s an artist who “wears his heart on his sleeve,” and the follow up “Everything You Can” opens up his sound with a lovely pedal steel courtesy of Alan Good Parker. After listening to his demo, Jenn Wasner (Flock of Dimes, Wye Oak) co-produced the album with him and got these very personal songs fully realized.
The reflections of love and loss, like on “Blacksburg” often have bits of humor thrown in like a girlfriend “with a Pomeranian that I pretend to like.” Highlights include the soulful “Letters of Your Name,” a polished ballad with jazz overtones, “7 Dollar Coffee” with its looks at happy couples around him, and lots of regret on “Where or When.” It would have been interesting to show a few more pop songs like “Everything You Can,” but Jacob stays under that black cloud for most of the album. However if you are in the mood for it, this is melodic melancholy at it’s finest. Check it out.
